ED arrests Santhosh Eapen in LIFE Mission Scam Case, says report

Santhosh Eapen told the ED officials that he had given the dollar to the consulate official as directed by the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh, PS Sarith and Sandeep Nair

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Santhosh Eapen, the managing director of Unitac Builders in the LIFE Mission Scam Case, confirmed ED sources.

Earlier, Santhosh Eapen had revealed that Rs 3.80 crores out of Rs 7.75 crores received from UAE Red Crescent for the LIFE Mission Housing Project in Thrissur's Wadakanchery was distributed as commission to various officials.

In his statement to the probe team, he disclosed that he had exchanged Indian money as US Dollar with the help of some bank officials and directly handed it over to Khalid Showkri, a former accountant in Thiruvananthapuram UAE consulate.

He told the ED officials that he had given the dollar to the consulate official as directed by the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh, PS Sarith and Sandeep Nair.

Earlier in the case, ED had arrested M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to the Kerala CMO.

LIFE Mission Scam Case, pertaining to the state government's LIFE Mission project, intended to provide homes to the poor who lost their houses in the floods of 2018. The housing project was proposed at Vaddakanchery in the Thrissur district.

The project intended to build houses for 140 families in Vadakkanchery by spending Rs 14.50 crore out of Rs 18.50 crore granted by the Red Crescent via the UAE consulate. The contract noted the construction of a health care centre using the remaining amount.

The ED claimed that Sivasankar (60) and others made undue monetary gains in the form of kickbacks in awarding the contract for the construction of the houses under the LIFE Mission scheme.